Skype Calls On RadioShack

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Skype has signed a deal
with RadioShack to distribute phones and headsets that work
with Skype's Voice over IP service.

The deal, announced today, is the Luxembourg-based firm's first partnership with a U.S. consumer electronics chain -- not that it has had any trouble signing up users on
its own. Skype boasts 66 million users and adds an average of 175,000 new
people daily.

RadioShack will also offer a Skype "starter pack." It includes Skype
software, a headset and 30 minutes of SkypeOut minutes , for making calls to
people who don't have Skype, for $4.99. Calls between Skype users anywhere
in the world are free.

"RadioShack is known for helping make the market for new technologies, and
by all indicators Skype is poised to resonate with U.S. customers after
experiencing huge success overseas," Jim Hamilton, RadioShack's senior vice
president and chief merchandising officer, said in a statement.

A Skype spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

It's the second recent partnership to expand Skype's base. Last month, the
company expanded a
relationship with Taiwanese Internet portal giant PChome Online's
subsidiary Ipevo.

Ipevo sells a range of Skype-certified corded and wireless phones that plug
into the PC through a USB port. The relationship calls for Ipevo to develop
and sell its wares to the U.S. and Taiwanese markets.